What Happens in Hawaii
by little doe
Summary: After pulling a disappearing act Kono finally returns home. And while some things haven't changed, she knows that some things have.


_**Disclaimer**__: I don't know Hawaii Five-0_

_Hi lovely people. This is a "kind of" sequel to my first H50 story—"kind of" because it takes place a long while after. Not too sure how I feel about it. I'm so much more of a One-Shot person... But let me know if you think it's worth continuing. Either way, hope you enjoy it :)_

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><p><strong>I<strong>

Late at night or early in the morning. Whatever you want to call it. He was driving through the vacant streets of the sleeping city and the smell of rain lingered in the air. Flickering streetlamps lit his way. His eyes were focused on the road but his mind was elsewhere.

She'd been gone for almost a year.

It was eight months, thirteen days ago when she laid her badge on his desk and told him she was leaving. It was eight months, twenty-seven days ago when she boarded a plane to Europe without him knowing, without coming to see him, without so much of an _aloha. _He would later find out that she'd said goodbye to everybody but him.

So it was pretty damn ironic, really, that he was the one picking her up from the airport.

Was it a coincidence that Chin got a bout of gastro and Danno's Chevy broke down, two hours before her plane was due to land? Probably not. Nobody was immune to being made privy to Life's sick sense of humour. Not even Steve McGarrett.

He took a hand from the wheel to rub his weary eyes. He would have been sleepy if his mind wasn't on overdrive playing out numerous scenarios of their reunion—some he wished for, some he dreaded, all of them made absurd by the reality of their situation.

"Get a grip," he chastised himself.

But he couldn't.

He thought of what he should say to her and what he shouldn't. He could pretend that everything was fine. It was fine for her to take off the way she did without saying goodbye. It was fine that she didn't return any of his calls, didn't respond to any of his messages. Totally fine. Or he could let her know that it wasn't. That for a while he'd been angry and frustrated. He could bring up all the things that happened between them, starting from the night at the beach and going through the many, many nights they spent together after. Ultimately he would ask the question he'd been wanting to ask since she disappeared, and he would finally know whether or not she'd left because of him. In the back of his mind, he already knew the answer.

He was approaching the airport when his cell began to vibrate on the passenger's seat, writhing around and flashing its blue lights. He knew who it was and he ignored her, figuring that soon enough she would find the note that he'd left amongst the aimless waves of the bed they shared, explaining where he'd gone.

##

In the Arrivals area he spotted her immediately. She was waiting by the road with a heap of passengers but all Steve saw was her and her alone. She was standing there, bags at her feet, smiling at him beautifully.

##

Kono spent the first half of the drive trying to condense the past year into one animated conversation. She told stories while making wide gestures, spoke over him in excitement, _ooh'ed, aah'ed,_ and talked about everything she'd left behind. She told him all the places she'd seen, all the people she'd met, all the things she'd done. He got the feeling that perhaps for the first time since she lost Surfing she was truly content with life. He should have felt happy for her. And he did. But he felt bitter at the same time.

He was doing well keeping up appearances but it was only a matter of time before his resentment came out.

"So what's going on, Boss?" she asked after a lapse in conversation. "Chin says you guys are working a heist case?"

"That was two weeks ago. We've caught them. You would've known that, Kono, if you'd bothered to call at least once."

He regretted it as soon as he said it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her sink back into her seat and the air around them became cold. Steve wanted to apologize but his pride wouldn't let him. In the end, she was the one who broke the long silence.

"I should have called you."

He wanted to ask why she didn't but he said nothing.

"Guess I can't call you that no more, huh?" she said after a while.

"Call me what?"

"Boss. Bossman. Big Bossman."

"You called me _Big Bossman_?" he asked, taking his eyes off the road to look at her.

She stared right back at him, then laughed. He'd forgotten how good her laughter sounded.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said, still grinning. "Just the way you said that and looked at me. With that face. What does Danny call it? Aneurysm face?"

"Aneurysm face? It's not an aneurysm face."

"It's kind of an aneurysm face."

"It isn't."

"Except that it is."

"Kono…"

"Okay, okay." She bit down on her pink lips but it was futile. He shook his head when she burst out laughing again.

He frowned and grumbled, "What the hell does that mean anyway? Aneurysm face…"

"Sorry, Bossman," she apologized when she settled down. "If it means anything I've missed it."

"Missed what?" he asked accusingly. "Giving me shit?"

"No," she defended, smirking. "I missed you." Her voice fell away and Steve thought that she would leave it at that. But she didn't.

"I missed everyone but I missed you, mostly. I thought about you everyday." She gave a small laugh, as though the notion was pathetic. "Everyday. You have no idea."

He looked at her and they both grew silent, weighing the significance of her words. Kono's smile was gone and in its place was a sad pull of her lips. She was the first to turn away. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That he did have an idea. But the moment passed and after a while he too turned back to the road.

##

They were nearing Chin's house when Kono rolled down her window. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the cool nighttime breeze on her face. Steve watched her, stealing glances as he drove through the quiet suburban streets. She was wearing a tank that showed her bare shoulders, and he remembered all the times he'd laid by her side, for hours watching her sleep, stroking the length of her arm from the curves of her shoulders to her slender fingers where the bed sheets hung just above her naked waist.

"Boss."

"What?"

"You alright?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, no. I was just…focusing."

"You sure were," she remarked, amused. "You were starting to get that face, brah. What did we say it wasn't called again?"

"Can you leave my face alone, please."

She laughed and looked out her window again, watching the houses they passed by.

"For some reason I was expecting things to be different," she said.

"They aren't," Steve said, more to himself than anyone else. "Not much has changed."

His feelings for her, for one.

He slowed to a stop at a set of lights. The sun was beginning to rise, it's tip just above the horizon, turning the sky a dark shade of blue. She turned to him and looked intensely into his eyes, her lips curved into a dry smile.

"Some things have changed," she said.

And the last part she added as though it was for the benefit of them both, as though they both needed reminding, and it would be the last thing she'd say before they pulled into Chin's drive and said their goodbyes.

"You're getting married."

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><p><strong>END<strong>


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